Harrison Ford?! Weird Election Incident Involving Kanye West Publicist May Point to Trump Campaign Aide
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On Dec. 12, Reuters published a story detailing how “a Chicago publicist for hip-hop artist Kanye West” visited the home of a Georgia election worker in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency to warn that there would be dire consequences if she did not admit to bogus voter fraud allegations. Among many other wild details, the story claimed the publicist, Trevian Kutti, told the election worker she was going to put “a man named ‘Harrison Ford’ on speakerphone” because he had “authoritative powers to get you protection.” However, there are multiple indications that Kutti did not actually use the name of the famous actor and instead referred to Harrison Floyd, who was a staffer on Trump’s presidential campaign.
Floyd, a veteran of the U.S. Marines, was the executive director of “Black Voices For Trump,” which was the centerpiece of the Trump campaign’s effort to court African American voters in the 2020 race. In 2019, Floyd mounted a brief congressional campaign in Georgia before dropping out after less than a month. Floyd did not respond to requests to comment on record for this story.
A source close to Trump, who was granted anonymity to discuss internal campaign matters, indicated to The Uprising that they believed Floyd worked with Kutti. However, the source stressed these efforts were not directed by the campaign organization.
“They went out of their lane,” the source said of Kutti and Floyd.
Kutti did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The involvement of Floyd would be notable as it could link the Trump campaign to Kutti’s effort to persuade Freeman to support Trump’s effort to discredit the election. Cooperation between Kutti and Floyd could also tie West’s circle to Trump’s election team. There has already been widespread public speculation the hip hop artist engaged in subterfuge to boost Trump’s 2020 campaign.
West has been a prominent supporter of the former president and they famously met in the Oval Office in 2018. The hip hop artist ran for president last year through his own “Birthday Party,” but he failed to get on the ballot in most states and ultimately only gained just about 60,000 votes. West’s vocal Trump support, the haphazard nature of his campaign, and the presence of multiple Republican operatives on his staff led to widespread conjecture his candidacy may have been an effort to help Trump by taking votes away from the eventual election winner, President Joe Biden.
West vehemently denied he was in “cahoots” with Republicans to boost Trump during an interview with actor Nick Cannon that aired last September.
"Bro, can't nobody pay me," West said. "I got more money than Trump."
Reporter Ben Jacobs was the definitive chronicler of West’s presidential bid and wrote multiple pieces about the campaign for New York Magazine. Jacobs told The Uprising it was a “matter of speculation” whether the Republicans who worked with West were hoping to boost Trump’s campaign or simply to draw a paycheck from the hip hop artist’s personal fortune. Federal Election Commission records indicate that West spent over $12.4 million of his own money on the race.
“The way I would put it is that a lot of Republican consultants made money off of Kanye West’s campaign,” Jacobs said. “There was no political cost to them being involved and the question is, how much of this was a rat fuck and how much of this was a grift? … There was certainly some of each.”
According to Reuters, Kutti visited the home of the election worker, Ruby Freeman, on January 4. The prior month, Trump and an attorney for his campaign promoted a misleading video featuring Freeman as supposed “proof” there were issues with his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Trump also referenced Freeman by name on January 2 when he called Georgia Secretary of State Ben Raffensperger. In that conversation, Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” more votes for him and overturn the election results. Despite a slew of baseless allegations from Trump, Raffensperger and other officials have consistently been clear that there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election. The concerns about the footage of Freeman were specifically refuted by local officials who confirmed she properly handled ballots.
When Kutti arrived at her door, Freeman called 911. According to audio of the call that was published by Reuters, Freeman indicated she had received threats due to the false suggestions from Trump and others that she was involved in election fraud. A spokesperson for the former president did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kutti was accompanied by a man who she identified only as “Garrison.” Freeman asked a neighbor to speak to the pair and hear what they had to say. In the 911 call, Freeman indicated she did not believe they had threatened her. However, Freeman said she wanted to be cautious and asked if a police officer could come to her home so she could speak with Kutti and hear what they might be able to do for her.
“They keep saying that time is running out and I’m going to need some representation,” Freeman said. “They’re saying that I need help and they can help me because they say they’re coming after me.”
A Cobb County Police officer subsequently responded to the scene and suggested Kutti and Freeman come to a local police station to have a meeting. That’s where “Harrison Ford” — or perhaps Harrison Floyd — got involved.
Based on police body camera footage that was published by Reuters, Kutti told Freeman that there was an unspecified situation that “may be authorized in the next 48 hours.” Kutti said this would “disrupt” Freeman’s “freedom” and suggested she could “move” the election worker to a secure location. Then, she asked to put a man on the phone who could describe the “situation” at a “detailed level.” Reuters indicated that Kutti identified this man as “Harrison Ford,” but the body cam audio is not exactly clear. Readers on social media who followed the story suggested it sounded as though Kutti actually said “Harrison Floyd.”
Kutti described Harrison as a Black “crisis manager” and called him “very high level, with authoritative powers.” She also suggested Harrison could get Freeman “protection.”
“There are federal people that are involved here,” Kutti added.
On his Linkedin page, Floyd notes his affiliation with the Trump campaign and touts “10 years of proven experience in operations, crisis management, government, and political campaigns.” Reuters did not identify the man on the phone beyond saying Freeman told them he “wasn’t the actor by the same name.” Freeman could not be reached for comment.
As she brought Harrison on the phone, Kutti expressed concern about a nearby police officer overhearing the conversation. The officer agreed to step away and the body camera footage published by Reuters does not include the call.
In the days since the Reuters story was published, West’s team has distanced themselves from Kutti, who also previously worked for the disgraced singer R. Kelly. Pierre Rougier, a spokesperson for West, issued a statement saying Kutti was “not associated” with the rapper when the incident at Freeman’s house occurred. On her Instagram page, Kutti posted a picture indicating she was near the stage at West’s concert with Drake that took place at the LA Memorial Coliseum concert on December 9. Asked about Kutti’s apparent recent proximity to West, Rougier insisted to The Uprising that she hasn’t been “associated” with the rapper since her visit to Freeman’s home.
“Trevian Kutti was not associated with Kanye West or any of his enterprises at the times of the facts that are reported in various articles or since these facts occurred,” Rougier wrote in an email to The Uprising.
Kutti has also used her Instagram and Twitter pages to suggest there are issues with Reuters’ reporting.
“@reuters Guess who’s coming to dinner? YOUR LIES! Now choke,” Kutti wrote in one recent Instagram post.
A spokesperson for Reuters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kutti isn’t the only one who has used social media to dispute the Reuters story. On December 12, the conservative activist Candace Owens, who has met with West, posted a series of tweets indicating Harrison Floyd would come forward with revelations related to the article.
Owens, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has been cited by Politifact for making “false” and “mostly false” claims, so she should be taken with a large grain of salt. However, Owens suggested the Trump campaign was involved in the meetings with Freeman.
“I am told that eventually, after multiple conversations with the Trump campaign about what she wanted guaranteed in order to share what she told them publicly— she got cold feet,” Owens wrote.
The sheer number of people willing to debase themselves for a conman to betray this country and overturn our democracy continues to be breathtaking.